Inland shipping companies consider 2020 a lost year. Due to the corona crisis, waterborne freight transport has fallen sharply. Real recovery is not expected again until 2021.
This is according to a tour of 25 Dutch inland shippers in April and May, commissioned by the Top Sector Logistics. Inland shipping was already losing ground in the transport of mineral fuels, but the corona crisis has made this much worse. Hardest hit are the automotive industry, energy sector, oil and gas industry, food industry (business market), textile industry and retail sector. Less hard hit has been the construction sector, especially ground, road and hydraulic engineering (GWW). With the exception of tank storage companies, no other sectors, affiliated with inland navigation, have benefited.
Responding to the consequences
Nevertheless, the companies interviewed are cautiously positive about the course of the corona crisis. The short-term consequences are far-reaching, but necessary deliveries will continue and can continue to take place. Shippers and transporters are trying to anticipate the consequences of the corona crisis, with the newbuilding order portfolio at shipyards almost completely dried up and part of the flexible shell of inland shipping operators being parted with at the beginning of this year. The biggest concern among shippers is the lack of a clear perspective on the further course of the lockdown and its economic consequences. Shippers are also struggling with the differences by country, resulting in mismatches in deliveries.
Recovery fails to materialise in 2020
Real recovery does not occur again until 2021, companies claim. Respondents do not seem to fear for the survival of the business. "It will eventually be business as usual again," is the expectation.
Extra focus on sustainability and digitalisation
Shippers have also learned lessons from the lockdown: that it is quite possible to work more remotely at home and that travelling and flying are less necessary. Shippers hope that the corona crisis will prompt a push to the energy transition and digitalisation of transport. Many sustainability projects are now on hold for a while, but the desire to invest in the economy precisely during this crisis is widely shared. Furthermore, there is a great need for legislation that makes digital exchange of transport documents legally valid, where currently physical transfer still takes place.
